Palestine Independent School District hosts first Special Olympics
May 16—Special needs students showcased their talents Monday morning at Wildcat Stadium during Palestine Independent School District's first Wildcat Olympics.
The event was created to promote inclusivity in the district and community. Special need students from all grade levels across the district competed.
"Our Wildcat Olympics was an incredible experience for students, staff and community," said Larissa Loveless, Public Information Officer for PISD. "Hearts were touched and friendships forged as students competed in a variety of track and field events."
According to Loveless, Palestine looks to demonstrate the values of acceptance and inclusivity with community events such as the Wildcat Olympics.
Students took part in a tennis ball throw competition, standing long jump, softball throw, 100-meter run, 4x50 relay race, 100m walk, 50m run, 50m assisted walk, 25m assisted walk and 25m run.
The high school team battled their junior high team in the 4x50 relay with the high school taking gold.
Palestine handed out over 100 medals during the two-hour meet as parents and faculty cheered on their respective teams.
Palestine Special Ed Instructional Coach Cynthia Painter sends her gratitude to Palestine Walmart for their donation of water and snacks, and a special 'thank you' to Chick-fil-A for donating lunches for the athletes and volunteers.
In the first heat, Archer Vance placed first in the tennis ball throw. Jeanisus Carpio finished second and Kwesi Buanbeng placed third.
The second heat of the tennis ball throw saw Kate Perez take gold, Javari Burton finished second and Wallace Johnson place third.
King Barrera placed first in the third of the tennis ball throw, followed by Kye Reeves in second and Lochlyn Blackshear in third.
Heat four saw David Rivera Jr. capture gold, Kyia Donnell secure silver and Noah Tucker take home bronze. Michelle Reynold placed first in the fifth heat. Gabriel Cruz was second and Wesley Fryar was third.
In the final heat of the tennis ball throw, Brady Ray finished first, Ryan Potter was second and Kevin Lockett placed third.
In the standing long jump, Karter Duncan finished first with Koda Echavarria and Danny Alvizures spotted second and third, respectively. In pit two, Jonah Lazarine and Aiden Strong finished first and second respectively.
In the first heat of the softball throw, JaMarcus Hall captured gold in the event. Kaiden Walker placed second and Mitchell Ballew finished third.
The second heat saw Braylon Brown finish first, Tommy Castillo place second and Shelby Matthews place third.
Carpio took home another medal in the 100m run where he finished first. Vance and Burton placed second and third, respectively.
Kate Perez took first in the 25m assisted walk with Katie Danchak taking second. Kendall McKnight placed first in the 25m wheelchair event.
Wallace Johnson placed first in the first heat of the 25m run. Anthony Cabrera placed second and Danny Alvizures finished third.
Miguel Ferretiz placed first in the second heat of the 25m run. Ramiyah Williams was second and Hilda Sarpong placed third.
Kevin Lockett took gold in the 50m assisted walk with Ramsey Perdomo finished second. In the 50m run, King Barrera finished first, Kwesi Buanbeng placed second and Kamari Deckard finished third.
Koda Echavarria finished first in the second heat of the 50m run. Lochlyn Blackshear placed second and Kye Reeves was third.
In the third heat, Kyia Donnell was first first, Andrea Castillo placed second and David Rivera Jr. finished third.
Michell Reynolds and Ryan Potter placed first and second, respectively, in the fourth heat of the 50m run.
Gabriel Cruz took gold in the first heat of the 100m walk. Brady Ray was second and Wesley Fryar finished third.
Jeanisus Carpio placed first in the first heat of the 100m run. Archer Vance was second and Javari Burton was third.
In the second heat, Karter Duncan placed first, Nyla Tucker was second and Noah Tucker finished third.
